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Archive for the ‘Picture Gallery’ Category

I just returned from a trip to New Orleans. I attended the Gulf Coast Strategic Planning Conference, Assisting Animals in Need. I met a lot of wonderful people who care about animals and the world we live in. I realized, by the end of the weekend, just how connected we all are in the world. This situation was manmade and will have consequences that are far reaching. I see it as a wake-up call.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) had been invited to make a presentation at the conference. The Coordinator of NOAA’s “Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program” was going to attend. The morning of the conference they pulled out and said they would not send a replacement. They would not say why the pulled out.

Billy Nungesser is a very generous man and cares about the public! I told him that I wanted to go out in the marshes and see what is going on, with my own eyes. Billy called P.J. Hahn ( Director, Coastal Zone Management Dept.) who arranged for me to go out on the boat. Billy told me that anyone else who attended the conference could join me. We had about 15 people go out on Billy’s boats.

Jeff Dorson, Executive Director for The Humane Society of Louisiana, said he was glad he was able to go out and see what is happening in the Gulf. The very first thing we saw when we arrived at the dock was shocking!There was a very large area of land that was fenced in with a sign saying: “Warning, Do Not Enter, Hazardous Material”. PJ said that was the area where booms and equipment were housed. He said it was so full that you could barely walk in there. Had I arrived 6 days earlier I would have seen it myself. Unfortunately, BP is taking everything out of the region and nothing was left, except a few booms. (See below).

I did see tar balls floating in the water. They are NOT gone. I also saw oil slicks on top of that water.

Land for Housing booms and equipment

Once we pulled out of the dock we saw, immediately, how slack the care for this oil situation had become. Booms were not in place. Many of the booms that were in place were covered in oil. We also saw a number of BP workers on their boats but they were not doing any work. Here are a few pictures from the first canal we went down, the first 5 minutes of our day.

Dirty Booms

Missing Booms

Small Wake from Boat causes Water to go Above and Below Dirty Booms

Workers on Boats, NOT Working!

More Workers

The oil disaster has been a challenge in many ways. Since the oil leak began, BP has been adding dispersants to the water. The first 2 months they used Corexit 9527. There is proof that this product is harmful to animals and humans. After 20 years, the people affected by the Exxon disaster are still getting sick and cancer from the use of this dispersant.The past 2 months BP has been using Corexit 9500. They say they don’t think it is as hazardous, but who wants to find out the hard way?I was naive about dispersants before my trip. I found out that it works like soap when you do your dishes. It breaks down the oil over time by depleting the oxygen. I have also had people contact me about “natural” options that can be used like the dispersants and the won’t harm animals or people. I have a friend who is doing private testing of the water and dispersants. I hope the results will shed light on how damaging the product really is. I am not sure anyone really knows what is safe, and will work, since nothing like this has ever happened before. Most of the other products I had people tell me about sound good but have never been tested for something as large as this. Using products in the Gulf of Mexico is not the same as testing them in a swimming pool.

Today I was informed that there are still 100 birds A DAY being treated for oil exposure. The media has us thinking that the worst is over. From what I have seen, and heard, I think we have a long way to go. PJ told me that he has seen a number of oiled birds that needed help ASAP! PJ calls the 800 number that NOAA and Wildlife and Fisheries tell you to call. He said they ask you questions like:

1. What restaurant are you close to?

2. What are the cross streets?

He tells them he is in the middle of a marsh with an oiled bird and then he gets no response. If he can’t get an oiled bird helped, with all of his connections, how can we trust that this oil situation is being taken care of properly?

Pelicans

Pelicans on Cat Island, A National Wildlife Refuge

Pelicans on Cat Island

More Birds on Cat Island

There are reports that the oil has gone as far as 5,000 Ft. under the water. The concern, how this oil will impact the whole food chain.The seafood, (Ex: shrimp, crawfish, crabs) live on the floor of the sea and eat plants/ dead creatures. This seafood is the perfect meal for small fish. The small fish are eaten by larger fish which can be eaten by whales, sharks, seals, etc. Humans eat most of these creatures. If the creatures at the bottom of the chain are impacted, everything and everyone can also be impacted. The water all over the world is connected. It’s the land that is not connected. Once the water in Gulf begins to move, so will the oil that is still there.

If all of this alone were not bad enough……When I was out on the water I saw a number of flat boats and air boats deep in the marshes. There is NO REASON for those boats to be there.When people do things like that they are destroying nests, babies, the marsh land itself not to mention spreading the oil around to other areas. The boats should stay on the outside of the booms. I saw one area where these boats had been driving around. The marsh area was completely flat and dead. Because of this, the marsh land is being lost.

Marsh Land affected by the Boats

One of Several Boats in the Marsh

When I was growing up in New Orleans it really bothered me when I was told, “the coast is eroding away and the area I was fishing in would eventually be gone”. Right now Louisiana is loosing 1 Football Field of land every 45 minutes. There are ways to restore the land AND protect the area from storms. The challenge is that it takes about 6-8 years to get the approval from all of the authorities: EPA, Wildlife and Fisheries and NOAA.

I addition to these challenges, the families in the area are having a hard time making a living. One night I went to to have dinner at a favorite seafood restaurant in the area. I was surprised to see the place was nearly empty. The owner told me that before the oil disaster you had to wait to get a table. Now, they are not sure how they will stay open. They had to let a lot of their staff go. Now the owners are the waiters, bus boys and run the business. Katrina destroyed their restaurant, they rebuilt and opened 6 months ago. People in the community were so happy to have the restaurant back in business. Now they are not sure they will be able to stay open because people are afraid to eat the seafood. I had shrimp, oysters and soft shell crabs. It was wonderful!

I saw firsthand how this crisis is affecting the people who live off the land (fishermen), the retailers (restaurants, markets), commercial real estate owners and attorney’s, etc. I also heard a number of stories from people who can hardly feed themselves, much less their pets. They had to take their loving animals to the pound.The shelters are so full that they can’t keep up with the demand. Many of these animals are losing their lives because they don’t have a place to live. The Humane Society of Louisiana had to move their rescue from Louisiana to Mississippi after Katrina. The shelter was destroyed. They have over 200 animals and only 6 workers. It is a no kill shelter and they have so many people wanting to place animals with them. Mississippi was suppose to be a temporary location, until they could find new land and rebuild in Louisiana. They still don’t have the funds to buy the land and build the shelter.

Two weeks ago I was going to have a fundraiser in Sarasota Florida. I wanted to raise money to help the wildlife and other animals affected by the oil disaster and bring more awareness worldwide. I had to postpone it. Now that I have been home, in New Orleans, I think I might do the fundraiser there.

This situation has a far reaching affect on everyone, everywhere. The first step is to find alternatives to oil. The US consumes so much more than any other country in the world. In addition, we import most of it from other countries, like Canada. It’s not like we are buying our own oil. The world we live in is amazing! This planet has been through so much and keeps on going. It has the ability to regenerate itself, no matter what the human population does to it. Unfortunately, regeneration takes a lot of time and it is being destroyed much faster than it can be repaired. I hope this is a wake-up call and the world can learn from this situation. Let’s take steps to improve the way we live. Humans are so intelligent. We are so advanced in medicine, technology, etc. At the same time we seem to destroy things faster than we are advancing.

I was really glad I got to go to New Orleans. I realize how much that place means to me. It is one of the most unique, interesting, culture rich places you will ever visit.

Bob Peterson is an animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor who, for the past 15 years, has worked for one of the coolest companies in the world—PIXAR Animation Studio. He has stated that he has a special place in his heart for animated features because, as a child, his highly fertile imagination was deeply informed by the now iconic films, Snow Whiteand the SevenDwarfs, Bambi, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and, of course, 101Dalmations. He says that animated features are the fairy tales of today and have as profound an impact on the children who experience them as the stories of Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm had on his generation and many generations before him.

He was interviewed by Glenn Close, another animal lover. Having been the voice of Kala, Tarzan’s gorilla mother, in Walt Disney’s animated feature, Tarzan, Glenn Close was particularly interested in how Bob came up with the voice of the lovable Dug. Here is part of that interview with Bob and his three dogs, Rosy, Ava and Dug:

Glenn, Bill, Jake & Sweet Pea

Oh, the LOVE!

Glenn Close: When and how did you become a dog lover?

Bob Peterson: I’ve always loved dogs and have had one since I was three. We bought her from a kid selling puppies out of a cardboard box on the street where we lived in New York City. Great dog. We named her “Marcella” after a Raggedy Ann character. She grew up with us.

GC: Why dogs?

BP: When you look into the eyes of a dog you know someone is there. Plus, DOGS ARE JUST AWESOME!!!

GC: Have you ever rescued a dog?

BP: Yes. After my wife and I were married we obtained a rescue dog from a family that didn’t want her anymore. She was a beautiful Collie/Shepherd mix named “Precious.” It then came to pass that our first marital “debate” was whether we should change the dog’s name away from the same name used by the wacky villain in Silence of the Lambs. Yes, that dog was also named “Precious.” Whenever we were out walking the dog in public we would chicken out from using her real name and refer to her as “Vicious.” But she wasn’t vicious, so we gave that up. Finally, we decided, that, darn it, “Precious” was her name, and what right did we have to change it? After a while we grew to know that she was a precious dog. She became part of our family and our children’s lives. Now that she’s gone we miss her a lot. Great. I’m crying. Thanks, Glenn Close!

GC: Is Dug based on a specific dog? If so, how did the animators translate a real dog’s behavior into an animated dog’s behavior?

BP: I wrote Dug as a combination of all the dogs I’ve owned. Marcella, Precious, Rosy, and Ava are all in there. The distractibility of Dug (SQUIRREL!!) is based on a game I’d play with my dogs. On a hot day the dogs would be panting to cool themselves down. So, I’d jump in and pant along with them. Then I’d stop abruptly and pretend I’d seen something important. The dogs would do the same and go to attention along with me. Long pause. Then, everyone back to panting. It was hilarious. Also I’ve noticed that dogs have an amazing capacity to give love immediately to people that they meet for the first time. Hence the line “I have just met you and I love you.” Dug says this to our old man character, Carl, when they first meet. It’s a challenge to Carl accept his new “family” who loves him and needs his attention. That line was also born out of something a camper said to me when I was a camp counselor in college. The kid had just met me but his first words were “you are my counselor and I love you.” This phrase has been tucked away for 20 years but it felt so right for the instantaneous love a dog gives that I put it in the film. The wonderful thing about the talking dog collars in UP is that we were able to hear the thoughts of the dogs without moving their mouths or emoting like a human. The dogs could pant, scratch, and move the way dogs truly do. The animators studied the movements of many dogs, and we had a dog specialist come in and talk to us about dog behavior.

GC: How did you come by your Dug voice?

BP: I never know exactly how I’ll do a voice for a character until I step up to the mic. Since I had written his dialogue, I knew that his dog collar would mishandle English a bit in a charming dog-like way, but I didn’t know just what he’d sound like. And then, Dug’s voice just started coming out. It was like that with Roz too. In analyzing it, I realized that Dug’s voice sounds a lot how I talk to my dogs. I use overly sincere elongated words: “Hiii You Dawwgs.” That pattern of speech feels dog-like somehow and they love it.

Elephants working in the circus have been a hot topic for quite sometime. Recently people have been commenting on the footage, and pictures, I took at the Ringling Brother’s Center for Elephant Conservation. Several months ago I had been invited to go see the Ringling facility, as well as the new born baby that was only one month old at the time. Obviously they knew I was coming so they were prepared. I was limited to certain areas of the facility. They told me it was for my safety as well as the elephants. The people I met were very nice and knowledgeable. Many of them had been with Ringling their whole lives and so had their parents. It seemed like a “family”. You can also read the specific piece I did on the Asian elephant back on December 10, 2009.

I am not an expert in animal training or behavior. I have seen dogs being trained by ”experts” and in my opinion it was extreme. There are a lot of people who criticize Cesar Millan and say he is “abusive” in the way he trains dogs. In the end, the goal is reached, the behavior is changed and the dog does what Cesar, and the owners, wants them to do.

A few months ago I had been notified of a local dog sanctuary. They take dogs most people would not want because they are aggressive and untrained. These dogs might not be alive if it had not been for the man who has the sanctuary. He seems to be able to bond with these dogs and the dogs listen to him. They live out in the swamps of Florida and the conditions are brutal. My heart went out to these dogs because of the environment they were living in. Then I realized, this guy lives on the property with them. If he can do it, why can’t the dogs? I’ve spoken to some dog trainers and behaviorists who have sent dogs there. They told me that the dogs love this man. The dogs don’t know how rough the living conditions are. They are fed, have lots of other dogs for companionship and get love from this man. That is where the difference between humans and animals can be so different. Animals seem to want very little but give so much.

I was sent pictures and information from PETA. Here is an excerpt: Bound with ropes in the practice area, baby elephants are wrestled by several adult men—some using sharp bull hooks and electric shock prods—slammed to the ground, and aggressively pushed and pulled into positions that will eventually be incorporated into a circus routine. The frightened baby elephants cry out, but according to the whistleblower, Ringling uses loud music to muffle their screams.

The whistleblower is former elephant handler Sam Haddock, who worked at Ringling’s Center for Elephant Conservation, a breeding and training center, in Polk City, Florida, off and on between 1997 and 2005. His late wife had urged him to do the right thing and expose Ringling’s torturous treatment of elephants at its so-called “conservation center.”

The pictures really bothered me and I wished I could take these animals home with me. I sent the pictures and information to a friend of mine who is in Asia helping the elephants over there. Here is what she wrote to me regarding the Ringling elephants:

What is this world coming to? My God…it’s heartbreaking!

Actually the sad truth is, what happens in real life is far, far worse than those Ringling pictures. What I saw in Asia, those poor elephants had so many deep cuts and lots of blood from their ears, head, legs, chest and sometimes their eyes are gouged to render them blind (easier to control), it’s that brutal! The beatings happen round the clock too- they take turns for days and nights in a row until the elephant is dead or almost, no food or water is given to them for a week. If it is unfortunate to survive the torture, the rest of its life will be succumbed to slave-like conditions, daily beatings, poor nourishment, no love and neglect. And/or they get shipped around the world to zoos and circuses only to endure the same treatment, as you can see. The white man is no better!

The video footage, the pictures and what I saw in person was far more disturbing, which is why I couldn’t turn my back on it, it made my blood boil! But sadly, yes those pictures are very similar to what I saw. I guess it’s standard practice everywhere to torture and abuse the animals into submission. In Thailand this process is called “the Pajaan”, in India they call it “The Kraal” etc. AKA “Spirit Crusher”…believe me it’s not just the elephant’s spirit that is crushed!! Anyone with any humanity will be crushed seeing that, I don’t understand those “people” who can do it, and have they no ounce of compassion?

So many battles to fight…

I don’t have the answers but I do want to put information out there so that people can see what is going on, different points of view and can take action in their own way.

I, honestly, was not exactly sure what vegan meant. I hear “vegan”, “vegetarian”, raw diet”, etc. Because of this information, I learned a lot more about being vegan. I was aware of Georges Laraque, the NHL player, who went vegan this summer to bring awareness to animal rights and issues. I also knew that Portia De Rossi and Ellen Degeneres also became vegan earlier this year. Until now I never really investigated it. If you would like to learn more here is one website you can check out. Vegan month.

2. November is also, National Pet Diabetes Awareness Month.

Today 50 percent of our pets are overweight or obese, which certainly can predispose them to developing diabetes. Both dogs and cats develop the same two types of diabetes seen in humans. The greater majority of dogs develop Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus where the body simply does not produce any insulin.

Most cats, on the other hand, develop Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. In cats the disease is due either to not producing enough insulin or an inability to utilize the insulin that is produced in the body — the same as Type 2 diabetes in humans.

Treating and caring for a diabetic pet takes a huge commitment in both time and dollars. Initial symptoms of diabetes are excessive thirst and urination, possible sudden weight loss and frequent urinary tract infections. Lack of energy and listlessness also are on the list.

Be sure you take your pet to the vet at least once a year for a full physical. Make sure it is, and stays, healthy!

3. Here are some pictures a friend of mine took of some Javelina.. also known as Collared Peccary. They are so cute I had to share them with you. He had 14 of these critters come out from under his house a few weeks ago, with a couple of new born babies!!!
If you would like to learn more about these interesting animals just check out this link.

4. This came from Judy Landers, one of my board members:

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we are working urgently to help stop the intense suffering of turkeys. Their situation is grave. The abuse they endure on factory farms is difficult to even imagine. Farm Sanctuary’s public awareness campaign to expose the hidden horrors of commercial turkey production, combined with our efforts to rescue and provide refuge to the victims of this cruel industry, are having an impact – opening hearts and minds and creating real change. But we need your help to expand our reach even further. Please help END the abuse.

5. ALSO…This Sunday night 60 Minutes will feature an unprecedented exposé on the factory farming of pigs in Australia which has been underpinned by an investigation conducted by Animals Australia. You can learn more from this link.

6.Denmark is a big shame

The sea is stained in red and it’s not because of the climate effects of nature. It’s because of the cruelty that the human beings (civilised human) kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins. This happens every year in Faroe Island in Denmark. In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.
WHY? To show that they are adults and mature….

In this big celebration, nothing is missing for the fun. Everyone is participating in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty “supporting like a spectator”. Is it necessary to mention that the Calderon dolphin, like all the other species of dolphins, is near extinction and they get close to men to play and interact in a way of PURE friendship . They don’t die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hooks. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim cry extremely compatible with the cry of a new born child. But he suffers and there’s no compassion till this sweet being slowly dies in its own blood.